Air conditioner



May 23, 1967 E. s. WEGMAN AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 10, 19 66 down movement, and front and rear movement. .panel means is moved from an upper closed position downwardly to expose the conditioned air outlet, the

United States Patent 3,320,872 AIR CONDITIONER Evert S. Wegman, Upper Arlington, Qhio, assiguor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 519,608 7 Claims. (Cl. 93--94) This operation relates generally to room air conditioners, and in particular to front assemblies therefor.

In an effort to improve the room face appearance of room air conditioners, there has been a distinct trend toward front assemblies which use solid panels in favor of inlet when the unit is operating; be relatively easily manipulated to the different positions; be of reasonably simple character structurally so as to be relatively inexpensive; permit access to parts behind the panels for control and simple maintenance purposes; and, still lend themselves to styling which meets the satisfaction of the styling arbiters.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is the provision of an air conditioner front assembly which possesses the qualities referred to, and which additionally lends itself -to various embodiments within the scope of the concept.

In accordance with the invention, the front assembly for a room air conditioner having a lower room air inlet and an upper conditioner air outlet on the room face includes panel means mounted for movement between closed and opened positions in what may be termed slider crank fashion. Specifically, the upper portion of the panel means is connected for generally vertical sliding movement and pivotal movement, while the lower portion is connected by link means for both up and As the lower portion of the panel means downwardly and forwardly about the link means to a spaced and angularly displaced position relative to the room air inlet.

The general arrangement is subject to various modifications within the scope of the concept. As examples,

.the link means may take the form of a perforated or open-work panel which in itself provides part of a decorative front when the panel means is in a closed position.

. The panel means may include a single panel adapted for horizontal sliding movement within top and bottom tracks; or may include two overlapping panels, one of which is horizontally slidable. In another modification, the means for the vertically sliding connection may be arranged to permit the release of the upper portion of the panel means when in an open position so that the panel means may be swung forwardly about the link connection. Other modifications within the scope of the concept will be mentioned in the description which follows.

Several embodiments of the invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing,

3,32b,872 Patented Iii/lay 23, I967 FIG. 4 is a fragmentary isometric view of an upper corner of the front assembly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating a linkage connection at the bottom of the panel means and showing the linkage taking the form of an open-work panel;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a modified front assembly in which two overlapping panels are provided;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the center part of the arrangement of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating in outline form a modification in which the panel means is provided with a releasable top connection and may be pivoted forwardly about its bottom link connections for access; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary isometric view of one upper connection for an arrangement as shown in FIG. 8.

The general appearance presented by the front face of the room air conditioner with the front assembly in the alternate closed and open positions is best shown in The peripheral frame includes opposite, double-wall, vertical side members 16 and 18, and top and bottom horizontal members 20 and 22. When the closure panel assembly 14 is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 1, it lies in a generally vertical plane corresponding to the plane of the frame 12. When the closure panel assembly is moved to its open and operative position as shown in FIG. 2, the top edge of the closure panel assembly is moved downwardly while the bottom edge is moved downwardly and forwardly into the room so that the closure panel assembly as a whole lies in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the frame 12. p

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1-3, when the closure panel assembly is in a closed position, the principal parts visible in the room served are the peripheral frame 12, the closure panel assembly 14, and a lower grille 24. In the open position of FIG. 2, the conditioned air outlet 26 extending horizontally along the upper portion of the room face is visible, with the directional vanes 28 exposed and accessible for adjustment. The lower grille 24 is substantially hidden, except from the sides, as is the air filter 30 covering the inlet face of the refrigerant evaporator 32 (FIG. 3). The evaporator extends across the area of the room air inlet 34 for conditioning the air admitted from the room. The control means 36, at the side of the inlet, are also hidden from front view when the closure panel assembly is open. To gain access to the control means, when the closure panel assembly extends for the full width of the unit as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the panel part of the assembly is slid horizontally to the side as will be explained in more detail later. It will be understood that since a prime requirement of the front assembly is to provide a relatively pleasing appearance in either a closed or opened position, any members exposed to view in either position are of a finished character.

Continuing reference to FIGS. 14, the embodiment there shown is provided with a closure panel assembly comprising a single solid panel 38, and a frame for the panel including a top horizontal member 40, a bottom horizontal member 42, and side members 44- and 46 secured at their top and bottom ends to the ends of top and bottom horizontal members 40 and 42 to properly space the horizontal members to receive the panel 38 therebetween. The bottom edge of the top horizontal member has a channel shape 48 in cross section which "opens downwardly and receives the top edge of the panel 38 therewithin. The bottom member 42 is an upwardly open channel t) which receives the bottom edge of the .panel 38. The channels 48 and 50 are dimensioned relative to the thickness of panel 38 to permit sliding the panel 38 to one side or another when the closure panel assembly is in an open position. When a single panel 38 is to be used as shown in FIGS. 1-4, the top horizontal member 40 must be sufficiently wide, in the currently preferred arrangement, that when the closure panel assembly is in its lower and open position, the substantial width of the member 40 places the channel 48 slightly in front of the frame face. Thus, the top edge of the closure panel 38 will clear the forward edge of the peripheral frame 12 when the panel is slid to the side.

The manner in which the closure panel assembly is connected to the peripheral frame 12 so that the assembly may be moved between its closed and open positions in slider crank fashion will now be explained in connec- 'tion with FIGS. 2-4. The frame side members 16 and 18 are both provided with a generally vertical slot 52 in the inner wall of the double wall. The slots 52 extend from adjacent the top member 20 of the peripheral frame downwardly to a point adjacent the lower edge of the conditioned air outlet 26. At each end of the top edge of the top horizontal member 40, an outwardly projecting ear 54 is provided to project into the slots so that the top edge of the closure panel assembly may be moved up and down and pivot in accordance with the movement of the lower portion of the closure panel assembly.

The lower portion of the closure panel assembly is connected to the peripheral frame 12 through a pair of links 56 (FIG. 3), one of which is provided at each side of the assembly and is pivotally connected at one end to the lower member 42, and pivotally connected at the opposite end to the frame 12. The manner in which the slider crank movement of the closure panel assembly in the frame is obtained will be readily appreciated. When the closure panel assembly is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 1, and the assembly is to be moved to an open position, the user simply pulls downwardly and forwardly on the bottom horizontal member 42 which then moves downwardly and forwardly in an are determined by the length of the links 56. The top edge of the assembly simultaneously moves downwardly and pivots in the vertical slots 52. When the closure panel assembly is to be moved from an open to a closed position, the bottom horizontal member 42 is pushed upwardly and rearwardly toward the face of the air conditioner frame to its FIG. 1 position. Thus, from a mechanical standpoint, the assembly operates as a slider crank chain having three links, three turning pairs and one sliding pair.

To insure that the closure panel assembly will be stable in its closed position, friction or detent means on the side members 16 and 18 of the frame may be used. Alternatively, the forward pivot connection 58 between the link 56 and the bottom member 42 may be arranged to be movable to a slightly overcenter position rearwardly of a straight line extending between the rear pivot connection 60 of the link 56 and the top end of the slot 52.

To prevent short circuiting of the discharge air behind :the panel front to the upstream face of the evaporator, :a horizontal, forwardly-projecting ledge 61 (FIG. 3) is provided along the forward edge of the wall between the air inlet and air outlet so that when the panel front is opened the ledge is engaged by a flexible sealing flap 63 carried on the rear face of the top horizontal member 40.

In the modification of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the link means between the bottom edge of the closure panel assembly and the peripheral frame 12 may take the form of an open-work panel 62 which is connected at 4 its forward and top edge by means of hinge means 64 to the bottom horizontal member 42 of the closure panel assembly. In this arrangement, the grille 24 disclosed in FIGS. 1-3 may be omitted since the open-work panel 62 assumes its function when the closure panel assembly is in a closed position.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the single solid panel 38 is replaced by a pair of panels 70 and 72 arranged to overlap. In this case, both the top and bottom horizontal members 74 and 76 for mounting the two panels take the form of a double channel, and at least one panel is slidable in its channel. Thus, the top member 74 need not project out beyond the forward edge of the peripheral frame 12 in an open position since the panel 72 hiding the control means does not need to slide past either of the side members 16 or 18 of the frame to gain access to the controls.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, another modification is shown in which access to the control means is obtained by pivoting the panel 80 forwardly about its pivotal connection 82 with the bottom link means 84. As shown in FIG. 9, the vertical slot 86 includes a generally horizontal portion 88 extending forwardly adjacent the slot lower end so that the top edge 20 of the closure panel may be swung forwardly away from the air conditioner face for access to the controls. The slot portion 88 may be tilted slightly upwardly in a forward direction so that the closure panel assembly does not get removed from the slot inadvertently. When the closure panel assembly is tilted forwardly about its lower pivot point 82, it will be appreciated that access to the controls and to the air filter may be easily had.

While a number of embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and explained, it will be appreciated that other modifications within the scope of the concept may also be readily devised. For example, for economy, the control panel may be provided at the side of the unit or in a location where the controls are exposed regardless of the position of the cover so that the closure panel need not be slidable and the construction is correspondingly simplified.

In another variation, the generally vertical slot means 52 (FIG. 4) is inclined slightly so that the bottom end is closer to the front edge of the peripheral frame than the top end. When the assembly is in an open position, the closure panel 38 can be slid to the side past the front edge of the peripheral frame even though a narrower top member 40 is used. Hence, the term generally vertical with respect to the slot means 52 is not to be taken as meaning absolutely vertical.

I claim as my invention:

1. A front assembly in combination with the room face of a room air conditioner having an upper conditioned air outlet and a lower room air inlet, comprising:

unitary panel means having an upper closed position covering said outlet and the upper portion of said inlet, and a lower open position exposing said outlet and extending outwardly in canopy fashion from said inlet; and

means mounting said unitary panel means for movement between said positions, said mounting means including first connecting means connecting the upper portion of said unitary panel means for substantially vertical sliding movement and concurrent pivotal movement, and second connecting link means connecting the lower portion of said unitary panel means for movement toward and away from said inlet and vertically relative to said inlet in accordance with said vertical movement of said upper portion. 2. A front assembly according to claim 1 wherein: said assembly includes a stationary frame having opposite, vertically-extending side members outside of said inlet; and

said first connecting means includes slot means in said side members extending for about the height of said outlet, and pin means projecting outwardly from said upper portion of said unitary panel means into said slot means.

3. A front assembly according to claim 1 wherein:

said unitary panel means includes opposed channel frame means supporting a decorative member for horizontal sliding movement.

4. A front assembly according to claim 1 wherein:

said second connecting link means comprises an openwork panel having one edge thereof hinged to the lower edge of said unitary panel means.

5. A front assembly according to claim 3 wherein:

said decorative member comprises a pair of sidewaysspaced, partially overlapping elements, at least one of which is supported for horizontal sliding movement relative to the other.

6. A front assembly according to claim 2 wherein:

said slot means include forwardly extending portions adjacent their lower ends to permit said pin means to be displaced forwardly out of said slot means.

7. A front assembly according to claim 6 wherein:

said forwardly extending portions of said slot means are inclined slightly upwardly in a rear-to-front direction to prevent unintended removal of said pin means from said slot means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

MEYER PERLIN, Examiner.

M. A. ANTONAKAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FRONT ASSEMBLY IN COMBINATION WITH THE ROOM FACE OF A ROOM AIR CONDITIONER HAVING AN UPPER CONDITIONED AIR OUTLET AND A LOWER ROOM AIR INLET, COMPRISING: UNITARY PANEL MEANS HAVING AN UPPER CLOSED POSITION COVERING SAID OUTLET AND THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID INLET, AND A LOWER OPEN POSITION EXPOSING SAID OUTLET AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY IN CANOPY FASHION FROM SAID INLET; AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID UNITARY PANEL MEANS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID POSITIONS, SAID MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDING FIRST CONNECTING MEANS CONNECTING THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID UNITARY PANEL MEANS FOR SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL SLIDING MOVEMENT AND CONCURRENT PIVOTAL MOVEMENT, AND SECOND CONNECTING LINK MEANS CONNECTING THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID UNITARY PANEL MEANS FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID INLET AND VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO SAID INLET IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID UPPER PORTION. 